'Méfiez-vous du chien qui dort' (translatable as 'Beware of the dog that sleeps') is a collection of six short-stories by the hand of famed SF-writer Nancy Kress. These French translations had been published earlier, back in the 1990s. Éditions ActuSF, who has/ve published some of Kress's works in the past few years, decided to give these six stories a new spin, at least for the French-speaking readers out there.

This little book contains the following stories of which the originals were first published in various SFFF-magazines, before being assembled into one of more anthologies, all part of Nancy Kress's bibliography:

01) Méfiez-vous du chien qui dort (original: Sleeping Dogs, 1999)
- French version published first in 2000 by Flammarion)
- Translation by Marianne Thirioux
- Short-story taking place in the world of Sleepless (trilogy)

02) La Montagne ira à Mahomet (original: The Mountain to Mohammed, 1992)
- French version published first in 1994
- Translation by Jean-Pierre Pugi

03) Notre Mère qui dansez (original: My Mother, Dancing, 2000)
- French version published first in 2000 by Flammarion
- Translation by Nathalie Serval

04) Trinité (original: Trinity, 1984)
- French version published first in 1986
- Translation by Jean-Pierre Pugi

05) Des Ombres sur le mur de la caverne (original: Shadows on the Cave Wall, 1981)
- French version published first in 1984
- Translation by Joëlle Wintrebert

06) Brise d'été (original: Summer Wind, 1995)
- French version published first in 2000
- Translation by Sandrine Jehanno

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In Méfiez-vous du chien qui dort a poor family's father decides to "invest" in mutated dogs, dogs that never sleep. They've been manipulated so that they are ever-vigilant. This also means that their capacity to interpret, to trust people, to act according to the circumstances has been lost. When there danger, they act on their primal instincts. It isn't until a personal drama occurs, because of one of the dogs, that the father decides to take drastic measures. The consequences are severe and will plunge the family, who's lost its mother early on, into difficult times. It's a story that is touching, that focuses on the characters' lives, how the changes affect them, how each thinks differently of father's "investment" (even though it was an illegal one, and the company that sold the dog(s) will change its name several times to cover up any tracks... until the younger sister decides to investigate the matter, especially after the drama, to revenge the death of her baby-sister). Technology can be helpful and convenient, but one should be vigilant and wary when this is applied to living creatures.

La Montagne ira à Mahomet takes us to the streets. There are people who are insured and people who can't afford any insurance. The story takes place in the future. Doctors are insured and protected as long as they perform their examinations and operations in the hospital. Any such operation occurring outside of the hospital (premises) is not covered by any insurance and is not even allowed. Consequences are severe. At some point, our doctor is asked to come examine a patient at her parents' home. The man who fetched for him told him he was sent by another doctor. As the name rang a bell, he didn't suspect anything and went with the man to the sick child. If the child can't go to the doctor or the hospital, then the doctor must come to the child. Alas, not all goes well and there are some words lost in translation, i.e. the mother thinking that he killed her daughter, even though he administered the required care and injections, despite the risks. The girls medical data (everyone needs to have his/her "scan data" available on a special card/document) were probably forged. The girl died a few days later, as her condition was so that any medical help wouldn't bring salvation; at least, in situations like this one, at home and not in hospital. The parents pressed charges/filed a complaint and so our doctor was sued for murder, despite having done his job. Obviously, he couldn't pay the requested amount. The hospital/his employer had no other choice but to sack him. This intervention would change his life drastically, but he would, one way or another, be able to continue his profession, albeit in an alternative fashion. A story that is quite if not very realistic, showing how social security is a very important factor in any society. In the USA, everything is based on (expensive) insurances (medical intervention, hospitalisation, pension/retirement, ...) and if you can't afford it, then you die prematurely, unless you can be helped one way or another.

Notre Mère qui dansez occurs in space, in a story of colonisation, colonising other planets with genetically modified humans. Alien life has not visited mankind on Earth, nor attempted to get into contact with humans. So, it's up to mankind to spread the seeds of life and populate the universe. And so, a group of scientists goes out to visit one of the planets that were inhabited a long time ago. The creatures are not human, but resemble oysters. Upon contact, these oysters are glad that "Mother" has come to their aid, as they have a serious, life-threatening problem. Their number has not increased as much as expected/as calculated for this project. Seeking causes (quakes, eruptions, ...) is useless, as it's the fault of the "Others" that our oysters are dying. These others resemble a sort of plant-like creatures, which produce oxygen, something the dancing oysters don't need. Oxygen is detrimental to their health and well-being. As faithful elements, fully trusting their "Mother" (which is perceived as God), Seed 140, who is the "contact" between the missionaries and the population, patiently awaits the help of "Mother", together with the rest of the seedlings. Will help arrive on time? Who are these others, when there never was any sign of alien life out there? What if a probe is sent to aid the seedlings, but gets contaminated by the "Others"?

This story is apparently based on the Fermi Paradox (Wikipedia), as I read in another review (Deedsandwords.com).

A similar story, somehow, is, for example, [b:Children of Time|34200015|Children of Time|Adrian Tchaikovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486560216l/34200015._SY75_.jpg|45276208] by Adrian Tchaikovsky (my review).

Trinité, if I understood it correctly, deals with the classic battle between religion and science. Practitioners of either discipline are convinced of their own right/truth. In this story, another family is shaken apart by different beliefs. Two sisters oppose each other: the oldest, a scientist, wants her younger sister to leave the religious institution that functions like a convent. She has registered there in her quest to find God, no matter what it takes. In that institution, which is based where certain laws can't prohibit the activities, many young girls and boys, who live under spartan conditions, have taken the same decisions and also want to find God. Everything is strictly regulated, like in a sect. Everyone has to undergo sensory deprivation and perform certain acts while their brains are being stimulated and linked to computers to register and capture the activities in the brain. As the younger sister feels something, she thinks it's God. Or is it? In this story, cloning is a natural thing, as at some point, their "brother" enters the arena, but not exactly by his own will. (He too will be convinced that what he does is right, finding God, but both sisters will use him for their own ends and he'll be the grand loser, despite the life he envisioned for himself) One of the classic discussions in which nobody is right, but stubbornness can really destroy family ties.

Des Ombres sur le mur de la caverne is a title that refers to Plato's allegory of the cave (Wikipedia). The story here is one about publisher's who work with computers or component-auditors. This was one of the longer stories, rather hard to understand. Looking up information on c-aud, I found this link, but I'm not sure how to use this information in the context of the story. Outside, protesters demonstrate against this practice, counter that books should remains the work of humans, not of computers. General question: what's the function of art? Next to this, there's the family aspect of the story, as there is a single man, a single woman with a daughter who never knew her father (she was conceived via in vivo), which has consequences for her homework that deals with genealogy. There were some valid points mentioned in the story, about the publishing industry and related, but I had a hard time "seeing" this story or what it really was about. Maybe Plato's allegory can provide some help.

Last but not least, there's Brise d'été, a strange story about an old woman living in a castle. However, each of the other inhabitants is not alive any more. Nevertheless, she does take care of them: washing, clothing, ... Outside, there's a spiked hay that prevents anyone, especially the various princes that arrive each x years, from passing. Despite their hacking and slashing, each of them succumbs to the power and ferocity of the hay, which makes their following leave the premises. Until that one day when the hay magically dissolves and the prince and his following can safely pass. That day, the charm/curse is lifted and life resumes. The old lady, now aged to the point of having fulfilled her life's duty, lets everything happen what should happen and joins the seven other old ladies that awaited her, but whom she heard the past decades without knowing whom or what they were.

What is these little fantasy story about? A re-telling of Snow White? Of Sleeping Beauty? Or just a tale about the ageing of (wo)man? Of how servants are needed in large households?

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'Méfiez-vous du chien qui dort' is my first encounter with the works of Nancy Kress. This little book contains six very diverse stories and themes, written in an accessible style. Nancy Kress not only focuses on the story, but also puts effort in making the characters stand out and be the centre of attention. She also makes you think about the influence of technology in various stages/aspects of life; even if these stories date from the previous centuries, some themes are still valid and of the essence today. Other than that, these six stories are a good way to kill time under the current Corona-circumstances.

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I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust. ( )